TITANIC THE STORY OF ROSE JACK AND CORA
by susan cousineau
Summary: This is another take on the Titanic


Life had been hard for Jack. At a very young age he had become an orphan. But, instead of becoming depressed he took off to see the world. He didn't have but twenty dollars in his pocket when he left, but he was off to have fun.

His jobs had been anything from working a steamer to working as a barker at a carnival, but his best talent was his drawings. He was good actually he was a very talented artist and had never had a problem getting people to ask for him to do a drawing for them. He got ten cents a drawing and survived day to day on that.

While in Italy he had met his best friend Fabrizio they had become best friends right away. Fabrizio was a fun loving person who didn't mind a hard day at work and a very hard day at play. It was during one of their many adventures that during a poker game they had won third class tickets on the Titanic.

Meanwhile, Rose had been raised in the best of circumstances. She had been educated in the best of schools the best that money could buy. She was a spoiled little girl who had met her fiancee just six months ago. His name was Cal Hockley, a miserable man prone to violence but her mother felt that he was good for them and had her wedding all planned.

Just eight months before her father had died and much to her mother's dismay she had found out that they were penniless. Rose's father had gambled all of their money away and they were now living on their good name only. There had been so little money left that Rose's mother had been forced to pull Rose out of her private school.

This was a big disappointment to Rose as she was planning on a life of leisure, she had her life all planned and working for a living was not one of her first choices. It appeared to her that mother just might be right and she might have no other choice but to marry Cal.

Cal and Rose had little if nothing in common. He was a brash ill tempered man who had struck her in the face before. He never had a nice thing to say about anyone, or anything and belittled everyone that he came in contact with. Rose knew that someday he would turn her into the resentful person that he had become. This engagement was not in her best interest. But, how was she suposed to stop this marriage? The invitations had already been sent out, her brides dress chosen, and Cal had purchased them a home. She was now a prisoner onboard the most beautiful ship in the world and there seemed to be nothing she could do about it.

Rose's fiancee insisted on driving an automobile everywhere. Riding in the new fangled automobile was not only unconfortable, but dangerous. They were always breaking down and the fumes from the engine was quite nauseating. Everyday it seemed that something went wrong with them. Of course they had a chaufeur but that still didn't make her feel safe.

Her mother had insisted that they bring nearly everything they owned on this ship. Rose understood that they were going to the United States to live, however, they looked ridiculous carrying over thirty trunks and three carloads of luggage with them. And then, Cal he brought with him a safe and a bodyguard. The bodyguard was a rude forceful man who did anything that Cal told him to do. Rose didn't like the man, she thought that he would not think twice of harming her if her fiancee asked him.

As they approached the ship Rose could not help but notice the grandeur, the women with their fancy new dresses and their oversized hats and the men with their top hats as they climbed the gangplank to the first class.

Rose looked over at the third class passengers. The embarassment that they were forced to endure with being checked for lice and everything. Even the children were forced into such embarassment. There was noone there to help them bring in their luggage, as battered as most of the valises appeared. Some of the children appeared to be wearing barely more than rags as they stepped into what people were calling the ship of dreams.

The ship smelled like fresh paint and everything appeared to be shiny and new. The group were met by their personal cabin boy, who would wait on them hand and foot. Rose and her mother had brought their two best personal maids to help with their dressing and upkeep as they made the long journey accross the Atlantic Ocean.

Unpacking was such a pain, and of course Rose's mother had developed a headache and was in her cabin resting. Rose wanted to make sure that everthing was set up right so she and her personal maid Trudy were kept busy going over the different things that they would be displaying while on this trip.

"Rose, what are you doing? We have plenty of help here, you need not do anything so tiresome as rearranging the room. Let the help do it." Cal was standing outside of their stateroom with a drink in his hand looking at her in disgust.

"I am just admiring these pictures. They are amazing and I would enjoy hanging them in the room for the duration of our trip." Rose told him.

"What is the name Picasso? He is a no one and will never amount to anything believe me." Cal answered with a snear.

Rose just ignored him as he was always looking at the negatives and never the positives. He would never have anything good to say about anything.

That afternoon during dinner again Cal had been rude to Rose. Not only had he ordered her dinner without even consulting her, he had snatched the cigarette out of her hand that she had just lit. She had run to the stern of the ship crying, when he had come over to her and convinced her to come back to the table.

As she had leaned over the railing of the ship Rose had noticed a few men down below. They were from the third class, but one of the men had caught her eye. He was about her age with blonde hair and the sweetest smile. She wondered where he was headed.

The rest of the day was as boring as any other day in the life of a debutante. There would be light chatter between the guests and the watching of the sea, but nothing very exciting. The band played some nice tunes, however, they were bland and not good for dancing or things a young girl would like to do.

That night during dinner Rose had enough. Cal and her mother were busy planning her life and neither one of them had any interest in what she wanted. She just had to get away, so again she ran to the same place she had been that afternoon. This time she went as far as to go over to the other side of the railing and actually contemplated jumping off the ship.

As she was standing there on the other side of the railing, the young man who she had spotted earlier that afternoon, came up to her and offered his help. He introduced himself as Jack Dawson and she to him as Rose Dewitt Bukater. From the moment that their eyes had met Rose knew that she had met the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

When it was discovered that Jack had helped Rose instead of attacking her Cal, in his normal hateful self had offered to have Jack eat at their table the following evening. Cal did not offer this as a reward, his full intention was to humiliate Jack and get a good laugh about it later. Oh, how she could hate Cal sometimes.

Rose had gone to bed quite troubled that night. She just wanted off of this ship and out of this life. If she didn't do something soon she knew that her life was all planned for her and she would never escape. Cal would keep her a virtual prisoner if he had his way. He always told her that she had her wifely duties and that she would honor and obey him or...

Roses only friend was her maid Trudy and at that Trudy hadn't been paid in weeks. She had never complained, but Rose knew that it made it very hard on her. To not be given any money at all was quite inhumane. Even though Roses mother hadn t been able to pay any of the help she still acted like a rich person and ordered everyone around as she always had done. Her mother's idea of hard work was walking to the library or perhaps lifting her own skirts as she climbed the stairs. Her mother had been raised with all of the rights of the rich and priveledged and expected everyone to treat her as such.

Jack had been down in the third class playing more poker. Fabrizio and Jack were good as partners and their games had been fruitful. Already Jack and Fabrizio had won over twenty dollars. This would be good because when they arrived at the United States they would have a little needed money in their pants pocket.

Third class was very different from the first class. There were showers for the passengers, however there were only three showers for the eight hundred plus people onboard the ship. There were also two bathtubs. The room that Fabrizio and Jack had was about seven by eight and they had two other roommates. The room did have a sink for them to use, so they could shave and dress in private.

They had bunk beds and a small locker for them to use on their trip. This was fine as Jack and Fabrizio had barely anything more than the shirt on their backs when they had arrived on ship.  
Even though Jack had been busy down in the third class he couldn't stop thinking about the young woman Rose who he had met and saved the life of the night before. What was she doing? They had a pool and a gym on their deck. Some of the first class passengers actually had a private prominade. He wondered if that young girl Rose had been one of them.

It was then that Jack decided to go up on the first class deck and see if he could find Rose. He slicked down his hair and tucked it under his hat and went up on their deck. The first class was busy with many dogs being walked by members of the crew, men lounging in chairs and children playing games. It was quite a different scene from the scene in the third class. Everything was so bright and new up here, and there were no rats.

Jack spotted Rose sitting in the dining room with her mother and some other women that he didn't recognize. He watched them through the window of the doors when Rose spotted him. She excused herself from the table and walked over to Jack. 'Ah what a handsome young man' she thought to herself.

Rose and Jack walked the deck for quite a long time and she learned of his talent for drawing, he learned that she was getting married but did not love the man she was marrying. It was as he was showing her how to spit that Rose's mother and friends had appeared and he had to swallow his own spit.

One of the ladies that were with Roses mother was named Molly Brown. She was an american whose husband had hit millions when he had hit a gold mine a few years ago. "So, Jack what will you be wearing tonight at dinner?" she asked.

Molly laughed as Jack pointed to the clothes that he had on and offered for him to try on one of her sons suits. It was nearly a perfect fit. Now Jack was ready for the dinner. Jack looked around the first class cabin and was quite amazed. The room was over twenty-five feet long and fifteen feet wide. It had a large double bed over in the corner and a place for sitting near the working fireplace. Everything in the room was luxurious and smelled brand new. She told him how she had a son just one year older than Jack and she was on her way back to New York to meet her son, and then would be going back out west once again.

Dinner was an interesting experience with the many forks and spoons and the cavier, but much to Cal's dismy Jack held his own and was quite popular with the people who were seated at the table. As he was leaving he left Rose a note asking her to meet him at the clock.

The party in the third class was what Rose had always thought a party should be. There were children and adults dancing and fast music. All the kinds of music that she thought that there should be at a party. They even played the spoons to make the music. She and Jack had a great time that night.

The next morning as she was settling down to eat her breakfast, Cal accosted her. He actually threw the table that they had been eating breakfast at over. Rose just didn't know what to do, was this really the type of life she wanted to have. She was only sixteen and she was just too young to marry such a baffoon.

Apparently Cal had run to her mother and told her what had happened, because as Trudy helped her with her dress her mother came in. Again she cried about them needing to marry a man with money and told Rose how selfish she was being about Cal.

Rose was sitting in the drawing room when Mr. Andrews came over to talk to her. He was a kind man who had been the chief designer of the ship. Rose didn't know why but she found herself spilling her whole life story to the man. She had never spoken to anyone about her problems but they had just become so overwhelming.

"My young Rose, you have your whole life ahead. To marry a man who is abusive towards you even before marriage would not be a good thing. Only you can decide if the money that a marriage to Cal will bring is worth the price of your soul." Mr Andrews told her with such caring eyes. " I promise you that this conversation will never be repeated, think carefully."

Just then her mother and Cal showed up and they headed up on deck so that they could see the ship from the builders point of view. Mr Andrews smiled down at Rose and pointed his head toward the gym door. There to her surprise stood Jack. She needed time to think things through and she just couldn't talk to him quite yet.

Again, Rose found herself running. Running to where? Where could she hide on a ship only 900 something feet long. No matter where she went someone would see her, someone that knew her or Cal. She would never be safe or free as long as she submitted to whatever everyone else wanted. It was time that she thought of herself first before it was too late.

Rose went back into her stateroom and took out the necklace that Cal had given her. It was a gaudy blue diamond, worth a lot yes, but not worth her soul. As she looked at it and rolled it in her hands she pictured herself wearing it with nothing on. 'What a funny thought' she thought to herself.

Her mother came into the room just then. "Rose I didn't know that you were here. We haven't had many opportunities to talk." she said with a smile.

"I know that you don't think that a life with Cal is in your best interest, however, he is a good man and he will take good care of you. You and your children will be people of priveledge and your blood line will continue." her mother told her.

"What if I have different wishes and desires? What if I wish to enjoy my life, I mean really live it? I want to be a free spirit not a stuffed shirt." Rose told her sternly.

"Oh Rose that is just your age, when you are settled down you will feel better. There is no place in this world for a female to go running around with no purpose. That is not the way that you were raised." her mother said in a semi louder voice.

"What makes you so sure that everything you want is what I want? This is not a good thing between Cal and me. He has struck me now three times and we are not even married. What will my home life be like once he owns me?" Rose shouted at her.

Rose looked over at her mother, who for once was left speechless. She walked out the door and went off to find Jack. Rose knew in both mind and spirit that that was where she belonged with Jack or someone like him not her mother and Cal.

Although Jack and Rose were up on the deck when the ship struck the iceberg there was no jolt just a little scraping noise. The iceberg sent ice flying at them and they were nearly struck. But, there didn't seem to be any danger. This was a large ship that was listed as unsinkable and neither one of them were worried.

Rose had promised that when they got off the ship she was leaving with Jack and Fabrizio. What a dream come true. Jack couldn't wait until they reached New York. He would marry Rose and they would start their life together.

Jack had decided that Rose and he should go down to the third class. It was there that Rose could be protected from Cal. She didn't need all the things that he wanted to give her, she had the necklace. With that necklace both Jack and Rose would be well off. 'No that is not what we want. We want for nothing from Cal' he thought to himself.

But as Rose and Jack arrived in third class they found utter chaos. The third class was much closer to the water and some of the compartments, incuding Jack and Fabrizios compartment were already flooding and the ship now had a pronounced lisp.

As they started back up to the first class Jack was surprised to find a man guarding the now locked gate with a gun. He was threatening to shoot anyone who attempted to go up to the first class. With the water coming in they were in deep trouble. Jack and Rose went down the stairs and were fortunate enough to find another entrance to the first class.

As they came into Cal's stateroom they tried to warn everyone of the danger, but noone would listen. All they were interested in was charging Jack with stealing the necklace that he didn't want in the first place. The purser had found the necklace in his pocket, placed there by Cal's bodyguard. But because he was third class and Cal was first class off to a holding cell he went.

Again Cal took Rose in his arms and slapped her accross the face. Her mother just stood there and did nothing to help her. The purser came in and told them to get dressed because people were being put into the lifeboats. Cal didn't want to be bothered but started to get ready when the purser became insistant.

Both Cal his bodyguard and Rose's mother forced Rose up onto the boat deck. She wanted to go and help Jack, but they were forcing her to go with them. Again, Rose felt as though she was a prisoner, so when her mother tried to get her into the lifeboat she ran and ran until she found Mr Andrews.

Mr Andrews had given her instructions on how to find Jack and with great difficulty they had been successful in freeing Jack from the handcuffs. The ship was now almost halfway under water and it was obvious that she was going to sink soon.

Rose and Jack soon arrived in third class to a place of total confusion. There were hundreds standing in the stairwell women and children included. There was still a man guarding the gate and he kept yelling at them to keep back. Rose watched as the wide eyed little girl who had once danced with Jack stood there with her mother terrified and knew that she and the little girl would drown if somthing wasn't done right away.

Fabrizio and Jack managed to knock down the gate and attack the man with the gun. With that everyone ran up the stairs. When they reached the top it appeared that most of the lifeboats had already left and Rose wondered about all the little children who were just standing there with their mothers and fathers and nowhere to go.

Within fifteen minutes the ship sank. It seemed like it was less than five minutes and Rose Jack and all their friends landed in the water. The water was so cold that it felt as if knives were being plunged into her skin. She knew that she would not be able to last long in the water. She was yelling for Jack when he came over and told her to swim. She swam over to a floating door and climbed aboard. Jack tried to get on but he was too heavy and the door tipped. He was looking around for something for him to climb on when he spotted the little girl he had danced with the night before Cora. She was holding onto her dead mother's hand trying to get her to wake up. Jack picked the little girl up and managed to get her onto the door with Rose.

The boats were not coming back and Jack knew that soon he would not be alive, he made Rose promise that she would live and survive the night and passed on in peace. Meanwhile Rose had covered Cora the best she could in her coat and was waiting for a boat. All of a sudden she heard some men calling 'anyone alive out there?' she tried to cry out but got no voice. She wasn't being heard and they were going away.

It was then that she realized that the wonderful man of her life had passed on and that she and Cora were the only ones still alive. She took off her jacket and placed it on Cora and jumped into the sea. She reached an officer's whistle and blew. The lifeboat turned around and pulled her and Cora out of the sea barely alive, but alive.

The rescue ship people were wonderful and each of them were given a blanket, but they were soaking wet and third class had to stay out on the deck in the thirty something degree weather with nothing but wet clothes and a blanket. There were not enough chairs to sit on either, and little to wash up with. The food was ok but there wasn't much of that either. The ride back was a very sad ride. All the widows the mothers without children, and the children without mothers.

Cora was a brave little girl, and although she was the only surviver out of a family of eight she kept her chin up. Her parents had planned to open a small shop in america, but had no relatives there for her to go to. She like Rose had no money and were homeless. 'I guess this is the time for me to grow up' Rose thought to herself.

As Rose and Cora were sitting on the deck of the Carpathia Rose spotted Cal. So the guy had survived. All those children and women who had passed away and he had saved himself. She hid from him and he left to go up to first class.

The White Star Line met them at the dock and each passenger received a certificate for clothes and the total of ten dollars for the sinking of the ship. Even the poorest of the poor had lost more than ten dollars worth of valuables, but that is all that Rose received. So between Rose and the little girl they left the New York harbor with twenty dollars in their pocket and no place to go.

Rose thought with tears in her eyes of all the plans that she and Jack had. They were all just a dream. 'No they were not. I will do as we planned I just have a different partner' she thought to herself as she gave Cora a big hug. And with that she began her job at Coney Island.


End file.
